We are accepting applications for the Class of 2025-26!

We are accepting applications for the Class of 2025-26!
April 4, 2025

Our unique and engaging 10-month program provides participants with a deep understanding of our community and leadership, with the long-range purpose of shaping a vibrant and prosperous San Ramon Valley for generations to come.   Participation in the program offers a unique opportunity to elevate your knowledge about the San Ramon Valley community and how to productively engage in it. If you’d like to be more involved in the community, please consider applying for the next cohort. In addition to an engaging and enriching experience, you’ll develop relationships with a variety of current and future leaders. For optimal consideration, please apply by May 31st.   Download the recruitment flier to share with others.
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Ryan Bernier

Ryan Bernier
April 14, 2026

On Cultural Arts Day, Ryan Bernier will lead an interactive experience designed to highlight the role the performing arts play in strengthening community connection, communication, and leadership presence.  He will blend participation-based theatre activities with practical leadership takeaways that translate directly into professional environments.  Ryan is a Florida-grown performer, writer, and director currently based in Oakland by way of Detroit, Michigan. Ryan is also part of the team at the I Can Do That! Performing Arts Center in Danville, where he is a teaching artist working with the fantastic talent in our community. He holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Wayne State University.  As a performer, he has enjoyed exploring multiple genres of theatre including established classics, new works, and parodies. Currently on tour, he plays Dorothy Zbornak in Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, a parody show that has held performances all across North America. In addition to his work on stage, Ryan has served as the co-artistic director for ThinkTank Theatre where he helped produce the now annual ThinkTank T.Y.A. Play Festival. He also served as the head writer for the award winning sketch collective, Some Sort Of Show. 
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Best-Class-Ever Contest 2026

April 1, 2026

It’s time for our annual alumni-giving contest! We hope that all classes will rally in support of sustaining the program and the friendly competition for the Best Class Ever trophy! Whether your contribution is $20 or $100, the class with the largest percentage of participants wins.  From business and non-profit leaders to educators and public servants to community board members and volunteers, Leadership San Ramon Valley alumni are positively impacting the lives of San Ramon Valley residents.  Each day they are involved in making this valley a special place to live and work. Donate with Paypal or via Zelle to leadershipsrv@gmail.com and help put your class in the running for the title “Best Class Ever.” Alternatively, you may send a check payable to Leadership SRV to PO Box 1185, Danville, CA 94526. The winning class will be announced at graduation on May 14th. For the contest, donations must be received by May 14th at 11:00AM.
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Class of 2026’s Class Project

Class of 2026’s Class Project
March 28, 2026

For their class project, the SRV Leadership Class of 2026 is increasing awareness and education about and accessibility to life-saving Naloxone resources throughout the San Ramon Valley. in partnership with the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse. They have invited businesses, non-profits and public agencies to place Narcan boxes in publicly accessible locations to help ensure individuals have the tools needed to respond to opioid-related emergencies.
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Vanessa Otero

Vanessa Otero
March 5, 2026

Our featured speaker for the Communications & Media class session is Vanessa Otero, Founder & CEO of Ad Fontes Media.  She will address, “Knowing the Reliability and Bias of the News.” She is a former patent attorney in the Denver, Colorado area with a B.A. in English from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Denver. Vanessa is the creator of the Media Bias Chart (October 2016) and founded Ad Fontes Media in February of 2018 to fulfill the need revealed by the popularity of the chart — the need for a map to help people navigate the complex media landscape, and for comprehensive content analysis of media sources themselves. Vanessa regularly speaks on the topic of media bias and polarization to a variety of audiences. Ad Fontes Media is a public benefit corporation based in Colorado. Being a public benefit corporation means they are a for-profit business with a stated public mission, which is to rate all the news to positively transform society. Fundamentally, they want to help bring people together. Misleading, inaccurate, and highly polarizing media content has driven so many people apart. This affects everything from our familial relationships to our ability to create legislative solutions to our biggest challenges.  Ad Fontes is Latin for “to the source,” because at the heart of what Ad Fontes Media does is look at the source—analyze the very content itself—to rate it.
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Class of 2025’s Project Event

July 18, 2025

The 988 Sign of Hope event on May 15th included an impressive lineup of speakers – Taun Hall, founder of The Miles Hall Foundation, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Supervisor Candace Andersen, San Ramon Police Chief Denton Carlson and SRV Fire Chief Paige Meyer – who told the story of how the 988 lifeline came to be and about the groundbreaking response model created and implemented by the San Ramon Police Department and San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. Additional speakers from the Contra Costa Crisis Center who field the 988 calls, the Yellow Tulip Foundation-Smashing the Stigma, and SRVUSD Student Senate President & SR Teen Council member, Selma Bahrani shared important messages. In addition, 14 community groups hosted tables to share the resources they provide.
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2025 Final Best Class Ever Standings

2025 Final Best Class Ever Standings
May 20, 2025

Thank you to everyone who donated this year! Your support of Leadership SRV sustains the program and allows us to keep the tuition cost down. Congratulations to the Class of 2023 for winning the 2025 contest for the second year in a row!
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Best-Class-Ever Contest 2025

April 18, 2025

It’s time for our annual alumni-giving contest! With Chevron’s plan to relocate to Houston, we are losing their valued corporate sponsorship. This makes our Best-Class-Ever alumni giving contest more important than ever. We hope that all classes will rally in support of sustaining the program and the friendly competition for the Best Class Ever trophy! Whether your contribution is $20 or $100, the class with the largest percentage of participants wins.  From business and non-profit leaders to educators and public servants to community board members and volunteers, Leadership San Ramon Valley alumni are positively impacting the lives of San Ramon Valley residents.  Each day they are involved in making this valley a special place to live and work. The Alumni News section of our last newsletter underscored the relevance of this program for fostering informed community engagement and building a deep bench of community leaders in the San Ramon Valley. Donate with Paypal and help put your class in the running for the title “Best Class Ever.” Alternatively, you may send a check payable to Leadership SRV to PO Box 1185, Danville, CA 94526. The winning class will be announced at graduation on May 8th. For the contest, donations must be received by May 8th at 11:00AM.
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Katie Rubin

Katie Rubin
April 4, 2025

Our featured facilitator for Cultural Arts day is Katie Rubin. Katie has been a working Professional Stage and Commercial Actress since 2005 when she graduated from UC Davis with an MFA in Acting. Before that, she earned her BA in Theater and Dance from Amherst College. Katie tours nationally as a Solo Performer and has been doing so since 2005. She has written and toured three hour-long stand-up comedy shows, and has acted professionally with companies all over California, including but not limited to: SF Playhouse, Capital Stage, STC, Playground, Elephant Stages, and The B Street Theater. Additionally, she has a private Healing Practice (KatieRubin.com) where she uses multiple systems, tools and modalities to bring about wholeness, authenticity, integration and wellness for individuals and groups. Between tours, shows, and working with Healing Clients, Katie teaches Improv at Stanford in The Continuing Studies Department, for A.C.T. in San Francisco, and at various other Theaters nationally. She also facilitates corporate training programs on these topics: Communication and Interpersonal Skills at Work, Navigating Difficult Feedback Conversations, and Public Speaking. She has led 1 and 2-day workshops on these topics for Cisco, Facebook, Google, Oracle, and various other companies, nationally.
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